Aston Villa Vs PSG, Waiting for Emery's Life or Death Mode

BIRMINGHAM, TUESDAY - Unai Emery, the Head Coach of Aston Villa, is indeed known for his expertise in defensive tactical approaches. However, that specialization will not be useful when Emery faces his former team, Paris Saint-Germain. He must employ an extra offensive strategy to catch up on the two-goal deficit against PSG.

Villa found themselves in a difficult position when hosting PSG in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals at Villa Park Stadium on Wednesday (16/4/2025) at 2:00 AM WIB. After losing 1-3 in the first leg, they needed a three-goal victory to advance directly or a two-goal win to force the match into extra time.

Emery could not possibly repeat the tactical approach at PSG headquarters. At that time, Marcus Rashford and his colleagues defended very deep and only relied on counterattacks. They had taken the lead first, but in the end could not withstand the opponent's onslaught. Conceding a third goal in injury time was the biggest disaster.

Villa, Emery said, will first aim for two goals during regular time. "We have a strong plan and will adapt as the match progresses. If we can take the game into extra time or a penalty shootout, that would be fantastic. We want to write history for this team," said the former PSG coach from 2016 to 2018.

Emery is very optimistic but also realistic. He will not immediately aim for three goals within 90 minutes. If such a target is imposed, the players will rush to score goals. Moreover, the threat of counterattacks from the visiting team is very dangerous. PSG has fast attackers, such as Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue.

Speaking of productivity, Villa has absolutely no need to worry when playing at home. They have consistently managed to score goals in their last 15 home matches across all competitions. On 12 occasions among those, Emery's team even scored at least two goals. Their attacking line is quite impressive.

Moreover, the loaned player from PSG, Marco Asensio, is in excellent form with a record of eight goals in the last ten matches. Asensio, who has an offensive playing style, is highly likely to be fielded from the start of the match. The attacking midfielder was benched in the first game due to the team's need to adopt a more defensive approach.

"We are excited to face that challenge. Under the spotlight at the stadium, there aren't many better places to play (than Villa Park). If any team can turn things around, it is us. It all depends on us," said Morgan Rogers, the Villa midfielder who opened the scoring at PSG's home ground.

The problem is, Villa's productivity often goes hand in hand with vulnerability in the defensive line. In the last 15 games at Villa Park, they have only recorded three clean sheets. Villa's defense, led by Argentine national team goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, must be absolutely perfect if they don't want their task to get even harder.

PSG Head Coach Luis Enrique assessed that the match is still very long and there is no favorite team. They must come with the ambition to win if they want to qualify. The visitors intend to exploit Villa's weaknesses that were not visible in the first duel. "Villa will defend higher. It will be very interesting," he said.

Although known as a very offensive team, PSG is also strong in defense. This was proven when they were able to withstand Liverpool's attacks for 120 minutes at Anfield Stadium in the second leg of the last 16. Meanwhile, team captain Marquinhos will return to the defense after being suspended for card accumulation.

The tactical duel between Emery and Enrique once produced one of the greatest comeback stories in Champions League history. However, Enrique's team managed to rise at that time. Precisely in the last 16 of the 2016-2017 season, Enrique and Barcelona won 6-1 after losing 0-4 first to PSG coached by Emery.

Ahead of the match, the puzzle is still unanswered in Villa's front line. Rashford, originally a winger, has been deployed as a spearhead lately. Including in the first match, he replaced Ollie Watkins. Emery is faced with a dilemma because Watkins just scored another goal last Saturday.

Despite the need for goals, Emery is not interested in playing Rashford and Watkins together in the middle. "We tried Rashford on the wing, but we decided he and Watkins are strikers. Next, maybe they can play together. Not for now because it needs training and trying first," he said.

The match will be very interesting if it has to go to penalties. Both teams have reliable goalkeepers in penalty shootouts. PSG has Gianluigi Donnarumma who became the hero of the victory in the penalty shootout over Liverpool. At Villa, there is Martinez who brought Argentina to the world championship through penalties. (AP/REUTERS)